Causing Mayhem

CAUSING MAYHEM 
Today's G1 Premio Lydia Tesio provides the sophomore fillies an opportunity to prove themselves against elders, and one who could certainly live up to expectations is the lightly raced French filly Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper). The Philip Sogorb charge didn't see a racetrack until July 23, when she was second in a 12 furlong Vichy conditions race, and she got off the mark a month later over the same track and trip. Following up in the Listed Prix Joubert over the same distance at Saint-Cloud Sept. 15, Mayhem was beaten just a short neck when second in the G2 Prix Royallieu at Longchamp Oct. 4, and could be the class of this bunch. The race boasts a few handy German invaders, one of those being Calyxa (GB)(Pivotal {GB}). The 4-year-old opened her 2014 account with a listed win at Cologne going a mile, and two starts later stepped up to add the G3 Franz-Gunther von Gedachtnisrennen over the same trip. Third when stretched out to 10 furlongs for the G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis July 27 and seventh at that distance in Deauville's G1 Prix Jean Romanet Aug. 24, she enters this off a third the mile G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua, and has distance queries to answer. The shippers will have to see off a strong team of locals that is headed by G2 Oaks d'Italia winner Final Score (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), who is unbeaten in Italy and prepped for this with a San Siro allowance victory Sept. 24. The Stefano Botti-trained So Many Shots (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) has yet to finish off the board in five outings. She was third in the Oaks d'Italia prior to taking the G3 Premio Mario Incisa Della Rochetta by four lengths, and was a last-out second in the G3 Premio Verziere off the layoff Oct. 12.